Home Office

USA: Visas

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effect on UK citizens of the US proposal to tighten its visa waiver programme.

Lord Bates: We have a very close relationship with the USA and are confident the changes the administration is currently proposing will have minimal impact on UK citizens.

Asylum: Children

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 2 December (HL3987), for each of the last five years and this year so far, (1) how many children who are dependants of British citizens and persons who are living legally in the UK have made asylum claims to the French authorities; (2) how many of those have been accepted; and (3) of those, how many have subsequently been reunited with their parents or other responsible family members in the UK.

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 2 December (HL3987), what is the procedure for children who are dependants of British citizens and persons who are living legally in the UK, and who have had asylum claims accepted by the French authorities, to apply for entry to the UK in order to be reunited with their families.

Lord Bates: The UK does not hold statistical information of the number of asylum applications made in France by dependent children of British citizens or persons living legally in the UK or how many of these applications have been accepted by the French. Statistics for transfers of asylum applicants from France to the UK on the basis of family ties are not routinely recorded.We will consider any request made to us by the French asylum authorities to take responsibility for an asylum applicant in France because they have close family in the UK in accordance with the terms of the Dublin Regulation concerning the principle of family unity and the best interests of the child. This is subject to an applicant first claiming asylum in France. If they do not wish to claim asylum, individual migrants in France as in any other country, are entitled to apply under the Family Reunion provisions to join relatives in the UK by making the appropriate application.

Asylum: Repatriation

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements are in place to provide financial and other travel assistance to failed asylum seekers to enable them to return home; and what assessment they have made of whether those arrangements are being used in Northern Ireland, and to what degree.

Lord Bates: The Home Office offers assistance to failed asylum seekers who wish to return to their country of origin, including help with flights, travel documentation and financial assistance where necessary. Voluntary departures are designed to achieve a dignified return for those individuals with the most complex needs who wish to arrange their own return from the UK. This assistance is available throughout the UK including Northern Ireland and we do not target particular areas or groups.

Asylum

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in each of the last five years, how many asylum applications have been made by people who entered the UK on a student visa; what are the top 10 countries of nationality of those people; and what assessment they have made of those figures.

Lord Bates: Over the last five years there have been 17,387 cases of individuals who have entered on a student visa and subsequently also went on to claim asylum. Details by year and those of the top ten nationalities are listed below.20112012201320142015TOTALSTotal Claims1,9014,3504,6953,7432,69817,387TOP 10 NationalitiesPakistan3851,3131,4711,2658925,326Sri Lanka7441,1371,1717153954,162Iran244464307148771,240India262443202942661150Bangladesh311673182642911,071Syria2425625113490755China259516216092534Nigeria1294142136107491Libya114735786109439Burma (Myanmar)9842141310177All Other1984654825283692,042TOTALS1,9014,3504,6953,7432,69817,387The Home Office constantly analyses patterns of migration to identify trends and possible abuses of the immigration system. In October of 2014 we began a pilot to target abuse of the visa immigration system in cases where people claimed asylum within one year of obtaining a visa for the UK. This encompasses all visa types and not just student visas. Evaluation of this pilot ahead of any decision for further roll out is ongoing.

Visas

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish from the migrant sponsorship management system the number of Tier 2 and 5 visas granted annually to each sponsor employer, and the number of Tier 4 visas issued annually to each educational establishment.

Lord Bates: The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Israel Defense Forces: Ammunition

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning the use of hollow-point bullets by the Israel Defence Forces.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have not raised this specific issue with the Israeli authorities. However, our Ambassador in Tel Aviv regularly raises UK concerns over the use of force, including lethal force, most recently on 19 November with the Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs and Public Security. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv also raised the issue of force with the Head of the Civil Department of the Israeli Office for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) Civil Department, on 24 November and the Israeli National Security Council on 18 November.

Israel: Gaza

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about reports that Israeli vehicles entered the northern Gaza Strip near Jabalia and created earth mounds to prevent Palestinian farmers from accessing their land.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: While we have not made representations on this specific issue, our Ambassador in Tel Aviv discussed the need to create economic sustainability in the West Bank and Gaza with the Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs, Public Security and Information on 19 November. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv also discussed the issue of access to Gaza with the Head of the Civil Department of the Israeli Office for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) on 24 November. During this meeting we welcomed the indefinite continuation of permissions for agricultural exports to Israel and the lifting of restrictions on exporting textiles, furniture and scrap metal to Israel.

Israel: Palestinians

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about the number of Palestinians killed or injured in October and November.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We are deeply concerned by the recent violence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the number of deaths and injuries of both Palestinians and Israelis during this time. Since the start of the current violence we have spoken regularly to both the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority on the urgent need to de-escalate the tensions. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), discussed the violence with the Israeli Head of Military Intelligence on 24 November. The Deputy Head of Mission at our Embassy in Tel Aviv also raised the issue of the current violence with Israel's National Security Council Director on 18 November.

Islamic State: Oil

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they will take to cut off oil supplies to ISIL, and the revenue obtained from them, before they engage in military action in Syria.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK has led efforts at the UN to make it illegal for any state, company or individual to trade in oil and oil products with Daesh, including co-sponsoring UN Security Council Resolution 2199 in February 2015. This resolution requires all states to prevent the transfer of economic resources to Daesh. We have worked to ensure that individuals involved in brokering oil deals between Daesh and the Assad regime have been sanctioned by the EU. We work closely, and continually, with allies particularly in the region, to ensure Resolution 2199 is implemented, sanctions are enforced and all smuggling is stopped. We are also working with the private sector to ensure it takes seriously its responsibilities to ensure Daesh cannot access the spare parts and fuel additives it needs for its oil industry to function. On Wednesday 2 December, the democratically-elected House of Commons voted to support UK military action against Daesh in Syria.

UK Membership of EU: Referendums

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) Commonwealth, and (2) Irish, citizens they estimate are resident in Gibraltar and therefore eligible to vote in the forthcoming EU referendum.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The vast majority of Commonwealth citizens resident in Gibraltar have British nationality. According to figures provided by the Clerk to the Gibraltar Parliament, 23,278 people were registered to vote in the Gibraltar general election which took place on 26 November 2015. Those who do not have British nationality are ineligible to vote in Gibraltar general elections.The most recent election in which Irish and non-British Commonwealth citizens were eligible to vote in Gibraltar was the European Parliamentary election held on 22 May 2014. In that election, according to figures provided by the Clerk to the Gibraltar Parliament, 19 Irish and 22 non-British Commonwealth citizens were registered to vote.The British Government estimates that these figures would be similar for the forthcoming EU referendum, in which Commonwealth (including British) and Irish citizens who are registered in the Gibraltar register would be eligible to vote.

Saudi Arabia: Capital Punishment

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they intend to make to the government of Saudi Arabia about the sentencing of a Sri Lankan female domestic worker to death by stoning in that country.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We continue to be concerned by the case of Waleed abu Al-Khair and have raised it at a senior level with the Saudi authorities. We will continue to follow this and other cases closely.

Africa: BBC World Service

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government in which African countries or regions the BBC World Service has switched from short wave transmission of their radio programmes from London via intermediate transmitters to in-country onward transmission from local FM stations, in each year from 1999 to 2014.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The BBC World Service has advised that they maintained short wave broadcasts to Africa in all languages broadcast since 1999 except: •2010 – Swahili in Kenya •2011 – Portuguese in Southern Africa, primarily Mozambique.

BBC World Service

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government in which countries the short wave radio transmission of BBC World Service programmes has been jammed in each year from 1999 to 2014.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The BBC World Service has advised that short wave radio transmission has been jammed in the following countries: 2004 to present - Uzbekistan 2010 – China (Mandarin) 2012 to 2013 – Iran 2013 to present –China, which has also affected parts of India, Bhutan and Bangladesh

BBC World Service

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government in which countries local FM radio stations broadcasting BBC World Service programmes in-country have been closed down by the authorities in each year from 1999 to 2014.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The BBC World Service has advised that they experienced closures to their service in the following countries: 2006 – Tajikistan 2008 – Oman 2009 –Azerbaijan 2010 – Somalia 2010 – Sudan 2008 to 2011– Israel 2014 – Rwanda

Malaysia: Freedom of Expression

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made representations either directly or via Commonwealth mechanisms to the government of Malaysia concerning the current prosecution of the cartoonist professionally known as Zunar.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have repeatedly lobbied for the repeal of this act at the highest levels, including by the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend, the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), when he visited Malaysia in July. Officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London and our High Commission in Malaysia have met Zunar a number of times, most recently in October. We continue to follow his case closely.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Government

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which Peers and MPs who are based in Northern Ireland were invited by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers, to her briefing on the Northern Ireland political agreement prior to her statement in the House of Commons on 19 November.

Lord Dunlop: There was no briefing for Peers or MP’s prior to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland’s Statement to the House of Commons on Thursday 19 November.An invitation to the briefing on the Northern Ireland (Welfare Reform) Bill held on Monday 23 November was circulated electronically to all Peers via the Usual Channels.

Northern Ireland Government

Lord Eames: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers, briefed Peers and MPs on the Northern Ireland political agreement prior to her statement to the House of Commons on 19 November and whether all, or any, Northern Ireland-based Members of both Houses were invited to attend.

Lord Dunlop: There was no briefing for Peers or MP’s prior to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland’s Statement to the House of Commons on Thursday 19 November.An invitation to the briefing on the Northern Ireland (Welfare Reform) Bill held on Monday 23 November was circulated electronically to all Peers via the Usual Channels.

Northern Ireland Government

Lord Rogan: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which members of the House of Lords and Commons attended the briefing on the Northern Ireland political agreement, by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers, prior to her statement to the House of Commons on 19 November.

Lord Dunlop: There was no briefing for Peers or MP’s prior to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland’s Statement to the House of Commons on Thursday 19 November.An invitation to the briefing on the Northern Ireland (Welfare Reform) Bill held on Monday 23 November was circulated electronically to all Peers via the Usual Channels.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Offenders: Literacy

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many literacy courses were enrolled on by offenders assessed as having a literacy need in each year since 2010.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The number of offender learners participating in English courses for all academic years where data are available is shown in Table 1. A separate breakdown identifying learners who participated on an English course after being assessed as having a literacy need is not available.Table 1: Offender Learner Participation in English (2010/11 and 2013/14)2010/112011/122012/132013/1423,98025,22022,62026,080Notes1) Volumes are rounded to the nearest 10.Mandatory English and maths assessments for newly-received prisoners (except individuals who have been assessed recently, and those who already have maths and English at Level 2) were introduced from academic year 2014/15. The outcomes for the English education assessments in 2014/15 are published online at the FE Data Library (link below) and attached.https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/473764/feandskills-OLASS-participation-english-and-maths-assessments.xls



OLAS participation English and Maths Assesssments
(Excel SpreadSheet, 84 KB)

Department for International Development

Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what emergency arrangements are in place to care for those who are affected by bombings in Syria.

Earl of Courtown: The UK has been at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have pledged over £1.1 billion, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis. We are the second largest bilateral donor after the US.We continue to closely monitor the humanitarian impact of airstrikes in Syria. DFID’s partners are activating their own contingency plans and have scaled up their interventions to meet the evolving needs of the population. We continue to call on all parties to the conflict to respect and uphold all provisions of International Humanitarian Law.

Department for Education

Children: Day Care

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many families with household incomes (1) over £50,000, and (2) over £100,000, per annum they estimate will benefit from free childcare and at what cost.

Lord Nash: The Spending Review announced the largest ever investment in free childcare which will give working families the help they need. From September 2017 we are introducing 30 hours of free childcare a week for the working parents of three- and four-year olds, alongside the existing universal early education entitlement.We have introduced an income cap so that, when at least one parent has an income of £100,000 or more, that family will not be eligible to take up the extra free 15 hours. This means that the extra 15 hours of childcare are therefore focused on those working families that most need help with their childcare costs.We do not hold information on the household income of the families entitled to free childcare.

Education: Finance

Lord Blunkett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on support services provided through the Education Services Grant to local authorities of the £600 million funding reduction announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 for (1) special needs provision, (2) psychological services, and (3) child and adolescent mental health provision.

Lord Nash: We are protecting the core schools budget in real terms, enabling a per pupil protection for the dedicated schools grant (DSG) and the pupil premium. The DSG protection includes funding for special needs provision and funding for the education of children and young people in child and adolescent mental health services units.The Education Services Grant is not intended to fund special needs provision, psychological services, or child and adolescent mental health provision. The £600 million reduction to the Education Services Grant, announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, should therefore have no direct impact on the provision of these support services.

Pupils: Bullying

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many children move schools each month because of bullying, and what assessment they have made of the implications of such moves for the education system and the children affected.

Lord Nash: The Department does not collect information on the number of children who move school each month because of bullying.All bullying is unacceptable and every school is required to have a behaviour policy including measures to tackle all forms of bullying. They are held to account by Ofsted and inspectors will look at records and analysis of bullying, discriminatory and prejudicial behaviour.In 2015-16, the Government is providing £3.3m to charitable organisations to help tackle bullying and to provide support for those who are bullied. This is further to the £4m provided over the period 2013-15.Levels of bullying have reduced as a consequence of the efforts of schools and anti-bullying charities. The Longitudinal Study of Young Peoplein England published by the Department in November 2015 compared experiences of bullying among two cohorts of 14 year olds (year 10 students)from 2004 and 2014. It found that 30,000 fewer people in year 10 in 2014 said they had been bullied in the last twelve months. This represented a decrease from 41 per cent in 2004 to 36 per cent in 2014.

Pupils: Bullying

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent of self-harm among school children as a consequence of bullying in the education system.

Lord Nash: The Department has not made a systematic assessment of the extent of self-harm as a consequence of bullying. There is wide variation in reported rates of self-harming among school children because individuals often do not disclose it. However, schools are well placed to spot a change in behaviour that may indicate something is wrong. To assist school staff, we published advice for schools on mental health and behaviour, providing teachers with information and tools that will help them to identify and support pupils with mental health needs, including advice about making referrals to a specialist service when necessary. The advice includes specific information about self-harm and effective treatment, as well as a school case study about how to address mental health issues in a non-stigmatising way in the classroom.The SEND Code of Practice makes it clear that schools need to look past any behaviour issues to identify underlying problems, including mental health issues, and put support in place where learning is affected. Our new joint training pilots with the NHS will further help to schools to effectively support children and young people with mental health concerns.The new PSHE lesson plans include teaching about self-harm and to help schools teach about mental health we have funded the PSHE Association to provide new mental health guidance and resources. This will help schools provide age appropriate teaching about mental health issues through the teaching of PSHE.All bullying is unacceptable and every school is required to have a behaviour policy with measures to tackle all forms of bullying. They are held to account by Ofsted and inspectors will look at records and analysis of bullying, discriminatory and prejudicial behaviour. In 2015-16, the Government has provided £3.3m to charitable organisations to help tackle bullying and to provide support for those who are bullied. This is further to the £4m provided over the period 2013-15.

Ministry of Justice

Holloway Prison

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many assaults on staff there were at HMP Holloway in each year from 2010 to date.

Lord Faulks: We do not tolerate violence of any kind in prison and any assault is treated extremely seriously. Any prisoner who commits an act of violence can expect to have action taken against them.Statistics for assaults on staff by establishment are published in Table 3.15 of the Safety in Custody statistics bulletin which is attached.Table 3.15: Assaults on staff by establishment, England and Wales, 2000-201420102011201220132014ALL PRISONS2,8483,1322,9873,2663,637Altcourse51658278150Ashfield721116052Ashwell20000Askham Grange10000Aylesbury5634354053Bedford2320131917Belmarsh2024341849Birmingham5966756289Blantyre House00100Blundeston2212-Brinsford1543558169Bristol2125174344Brixton4149461211Bronzefield6790443561Buckley Hall6116816Bullingdon3227263940Bullwood Hall73210Bure43248Canterbury107410Cardiff960718Channings Wood10614249Chelmsford4544243147Coldingley6651010Cookham Wood249392450Dartmoor614101011Deerbolt2737181433Doncaster2435394481Dorchester39107-Dovegate2325202853Dover145785Downview012450Drake Hall01602Durham4064392744East Sutton Park00000Eastwood Park131262028Edmunds Hill73000Erlestoke68165Everthorpe81211113Exeter1718172212Featherstone314101624Feltham124119112141138Ford02423Forest Bank1618183057Foston Hall11021711Frankland362224249Full Sutton1211131511Garth311101331Gartree37999Glen Parva4934405961Gloucester1215810Grendon /Spring Hill10021Guys Marsh1313142128Haslar10000Haverigg61381420Hewell1320202750High Down4550414759Highpoint2424253640Hindley6371437050Hollesley Bay01122Holloway2427421920Holme House222415712Hull1425332426Humber----27Huntercombe170397IOW cluster---2516IOW: Albany3260-IOW: Camp Hill179111-IOW: Parkhurst1710100-Isis950665643Kennet33220Kingston20010Kirkham01000Kirklevington00000Lancaster Castle20000Lancaster Farms5938213127Latchmere House00---Leeds3041312233Leicester2014214134Lewes1924191517Leyhill01011Lincoln2844423442Lindholme1725152331Littlehey3448453612Liverpool3035221335Long Lartin1317191613Low Newton181211115Lowdham Grange1929254147Maidstone42138Manchester3537684131Moorland10128249Moorland Open (Hatfield)00000Morton Hall26101112Mount161181714New Hall1566219North Sea Camp00103Northallerton6425-Northumberland--171715Northumberland: Acklington712100Northumberland: Castington174200Norwich1622312225Nottingham6392454746Oakwood--1413763Onley1514143443Parc6366505466Pentonville78968171137Peterborough80100774668Portland2834324033Preston2235383132Ranby2125313550Reading813112-Risley1712131017Rochester3625183421Rye Hill3853368259Send41162Sheppey: Elmley3829232840Sheppey: Standford Hill20011Sheppey: Swaleside1915151643Shepton Mallet00000Shrewsbury21210Stafford13101042Stocken49111017Stoke Heath5328162134Styal97101219Sudbury10130Swansea578610Swinfen Hall1519322114Thameside--5116899Thorn Cross01422Usk\Prescoed00001Verne04338Wakefield1412231524Wandsworth5968302149Warren Hill653464310Wayland916242937Wealstun819141017Weare-----Wellingborough21202300Werrington2932323738Wetherby3975576164Whatton24896Whitemoor1017171921Winchester1114172548Wolds93782Woodhill2440606769Wormwood Scrubs67861028269Wymott1310967ESCORT AREAS8340744951Missing data00000Key:" - " = Not applicable - Establishment not operational(1) A new Key Performance Indicator for serious assaults was introduced in 2003/04 and as a result reporting of all assault incidents improved. Reported incidents before 2005 are therefore not directly comparable with later figures. In particular, although figures for 2000 to 2002 have been included they are under reported by modern standards. It is now expected that all assaults, including fights, should be reported whether or not there was an injury. As this was not the case in the past care needs to be taken when interpreting changes over the years.(2) Rises or falls in numbers of assault incidents from one year to the next are not a good indicator of underlying trend. This table should be read in conjunction with table 3.16 which outlines some of the major changes to prisons that will have affected numbers of incidents. In addition to these changes some prisons may have opened new wings/house blocks or closed others for refurbishment. These are not listed but often explain large increases or decreases from one year to the next.(3) The sum of prisoner on prisoner assaults and assaults on staff may not equal the total number of assaults because staff may be assaulted in a prisoner on prisoner assault incident and other assault incidents may involve other people, e.g. visitors.Data Sources and Quality  These figures have been drawn from the NOMS Incident Reporting System. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. Although the figures are shown to the last individual the figures may not be accurate to that level.



Number of assaults on staff from 2010-2014
(Excel SpreadSheet, 248 KB)

The Lord Chairman of Committees

House of Lords Press Office

Lord Dobbs: To ask the Chairman of Committees, further to his Written Answer on 24 November (HL3466), whether the total of £195,000 for the estimated annual running costs of the House of Lords Press and Media Team includes the cost of office space and similar overheads, and if not, what are the estimated total running costs of that team including those overheads.

Lord Laming: No. The House of Lords has made no specific estimate of the cost of office space and similar overheads in respect of the House of Lords Press and Media Team; similar overheads apply to various Lords Departments and are part of the total running cost of Parliament.

House of Lords Press Office

Lord Dobbs: To ask the Chairman of Committees, in the last four weeks, what press stories have been initiated by the House of Lords Press and Media team, and what are the web links to each.

Lord Laming: In the four weeks between Thursday 29 October and Thursday 26 November (when this question was tabled) at least 150 media stories about the work of the House of Lords have been generated following the issuing of press releases by the House of Lords Press and Media team.This can be broken down to 34 broadcast features, 26 articles in national newspapers, 54 articles in newspapers from the nations and regions of the UK, 21 articles in trade publications and 10 articles on major news websites. It should be noted that the figure for websites includes only websites categorised as major national non-print news outlets such as the BBC, ITN, The Huffington Post etc. It excludes local news websites and websites of national newspapers.During the four-week period in question a significant amount of the media coverage generated by the Press and Media Team was related to reports on the economic impact of further devolution from the Economic Affairs Committee, the report on the Scotland Bill from the Constitution Committee and the inquiry on the BBC Charter Renewal by the Communications Committee. There was also coverage of balloted debates following the Press and Media Team issuing press releases, which they offerfor all balloted debates. I have set out a range of examples of the coverage achieved as web links below.Sample coverage of the Economic Affairs Committee report:www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3326501/Peers-call-halt-devolution-powers-Scotland.htmlwww.theguardian.com/politics/2015/nov/20/peers-threaten-to-block-scotland-bill-until-details-made-clearwww.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/scotland/article4619111.ece (subscription required)www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/leaders/article4618836.ece (subscription required)www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-34870354www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-20/u-k-lords-seek-delay-to-scotland-bill-over-fiscal-uncertaintyuk.news.yahoo.com/house-lords-flexes-muscle-again-062919748.html#cXsOuCXwww.thenational.scot/news/nobody-knows-what-is-going-on-lords-demands-halt-to-scotland-bill.10229www.thenational.scot/comment/the-national-view-fiscal-framework-must-be-afforded-very-close-scrutiny.10210news.stv.tv/scotland-decides/news/1332921-new-scots-powers-in-peril-as-lords-demand-halt-to-devolution-bill/www.heraldscotland.com/politics/14091782.Lords_call_for_a_halt_to_Scotland_Bill_in_damning_verdict_on_transfer_of_powers/www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/politics/756995/halt-the-scotland-bill-lords-committee-declares/www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/lords-committee-halts-scotland-bill-6865533www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/peers-call-for-scotland-bill-halt-amid-funding-package-concerns-34218366.htmlwww.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/scrap-barnett-formula-boost-scrutiny-10472253forargyll.com/?p=102820Sample coverage of the Constitution Committee report:www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/scotland/article4622064.ece (subscription required)www.scotsman.com/news/uk/lords-committee-scotland-bill-will-risk-future-of-uk-1-3956632www.heraldscotland.com/politics/14098192.Lowering_voting_age_in_Scotland_could_mean_votes_for_prisoners_too__say_peers/www.thenational.scot/news/more-peers-call-to-delay-progress-of-the-scotland-bill.10363www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-23/delay-to-bill-on-new-scots-powers-urged-by-second-lords-panelforargyll.com/?p=102904www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/11/23/scotland-bill-devolution-the-vow-lords_n_8628320.htmlwww.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-34904774Sample coverage of the Communications Committee inquiry:www.theguardian.com/media/2015/nov/17/john-whittingdale-defends-bbc-charter-panel-secrecywww.heraldscotland.com/news/homenews/14037798.Culture_Secretary_John_Whittingdale_not__out_to_diminish__BBC/www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/whittingdale-rushed-bbc-funding-deal-will-not-be-repeated/5096987.articlewww.telegraph.co.uk/news/bbc/11987215/Lord-Hall-Top-3400-most-watched-TV-shows-are-British.htmlwww.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/director-general-lord-hall-im-sad-the-voice-is-leaving-bbc-34188366.htmlwww.theguardian.com/media/2015/nov/10/bbc-director-general-hints-itv-has-poached-the-voicewww.theguardian.com/media/2015/nov/03/bbc-vice-newsThe cross-party make-up of Select Committees allow the Press and Media team to develop and deliver proactive communications strategies for Committee work; that can prove more challenging for legislative work and areas of the House’s work subject to party political debate. In the 2014-15 session of Parliament, the Press and Media Team’s proactive promotion of select committee work generated 856 positive items of media coverage.

House of Lords Press Office

Lord Dobbs: To ask the Chairman of Committees how many peers receive the daily press coverage service of the House of Lords Press and Media Team.

Lord Laming: 63 members of the House of Lords currently receive the House of Lords Press and Media Team’s daily media summary, in addition to 6 Members’ staff and 180 staff of the House of Lords Administration. Any Member who wishes to receive the summary should contact the Press and Media Team (lordspressoffice@parliament.uk).

Department for Communities and Local Government

Enterprise Zones

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intended to carry out a review of the Enterprise Zones established in the UK.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: DCLG publishes national and regional performance data collected from Enterprise Zones on a quarterly basis. This data includes jobs attracted as well as investment and the number of business established.Based on the most recent quarterly monitoring returns, Enterprise Zones have attracted 20,676 jobs including construction jobs, and 566 businesses. This shows a 9 percent increase in jobs growth and a 5 per cent increase in new businesses on the previous quarter. This data is self-reported but all efforts have been made to ensure its accuracy.

Enterprise Zones: North West

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the (1) Mersey Waters, (2) Liverpool City, and (3) Sci-Tech Daresbury, Enterprise Zones in particular regarding new job creation and investment.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: DCLG publishes national and regional performance data collected from Enterprise Zones on a quarterly basis. Data is not published on individual zones. This data includes jobs attracted as well as investment and the number of business established.Based on the most recent quarterly monitoring returns, Enterprise Zones in the North, which include Mersey Waters and Sci-Tech Daresbury, have attracted 5,889 jobs including construction jobs, 150 new businesses and secured around £1,120 million of private sector investment. This data is self-reported but all efforts have been made to ensure its accuracy.Data for Liverpool City is not included, as it does not offer business rates discounts as part of the official Enterprise Zone programme.

Right to Manage Companies

Baroness Gardner of Parkes: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the issues involved in maintaining or improving leasehold properties under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, in particular in central London, where a right to manage exists.

Baroness Gardner of Parkes: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to legislate in connection with the right to manage in order to provide a limited time within which non-resident leaseholders who fail to respond can be deemed to have agreed to a proposal.

Baroness Gardner of Parkes: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will clarify the measures that can be taken to enable works to be carried out when they are wanted or needed by a majority of leaseholders in leasehold residential properties.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The maintenance and repair of a block of flats containing leasehold properties is normally the responsibility of the landlord and will be set out under the terms of the lease. This responsibility can pass to a Right to Manage Company where leaseholders have exercised and acquired that right, allowing them to exercise direct control over how their block is maintained.Landlords, or those who have acquired the Right to Manage, have a contractual obligation under the terms of the leases to carry out necessary works to the properties that they are responsible for maintaining. Where works are suggested by a majority of leaseholders that are not essential to the repair or maintenance of the property, we would expect landlords to engage with their leaseholders to discuss the feasibility of the suggested works, but there are no plans to legislate to obligate landlords to carry out such work.There are also no plans to legislate to provide a limited time within which non-resident leaseholders who fail to respond to a proposal for qualifying works, are deemed to have agreed to the proposed works. The statutory consultation process (known as section 20) gives leaseholders the ability to have a greater say on proposed works to their property by making observations. It does not require leaseholders to make observations, but any observations that are made must be made within a specified time limit. The landlord (or Right to Manage Company) is therefore in the knowledge that subject to observations made, they are able to proceed with necessary works.

Housing: Planning Permission

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each of the last five years, how many planning appeals were made against local authority decisions on major housing schemes; what was the average time taken by the Planning Inspectorate to deal with those appeals; how many took longer than six months; how many have so far been made this year, and of those how many have taken, or are scheduled to take, longer than six months.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The table below shows the number of planning appeals made against local authority decisions on major housing schemes (10 or more houses). It shows the average time taken, how many took longer than six months, how many have been made so far this year and of those, how many have taken or will take longer than six months.s78 planning appeals for major dwellings (10+)Start DateNumber of decisionsAverage days to decideNumber of appeal decisions that exceeded 6 months (start to decision)2010-20116261631422011-2012473146572012-2013397166862013-20144951621172014-20155871662302015-2016392185157Number of decisions in progress that are beyond 6 months (in age) = 62

HM Treasury

Civil Engineering: Tunnels

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that tunnelling engineering skills in the UK are not lost.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: .In 2012, the Government published “Tunnelling: A Capability Analysis” which identified the tunnelling skills essential to deliver key projects, including Crossrail, HS2 and the Thames Tideway Tunnel.To help meet this demand and maintain the UK’s skills base, the National Construction College delivers training at a purpose-built facility: the Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy in East London.In September, the Government published the National Infrastructure Plan for Skills, to ensure the UK has the right skills base to deliver and maintain world-class infrastructure. This report sets out the scale of the challenge and is just the first step. The Government is now consulting with stakeholders across industry, academia and training providers to build a series of detailed actions to address the skills challenge.

NHS: Finance

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the resource Departmental Expenditure Count figure for the NHS in 2016–17, set out in Table 2.9 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, includes provision for a rolled forward overspend from 2015–16; and if not, how any such overspend will be treated.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The Department of Health has plans in place to manage Trust deficits in 2015-16 within the overall health budget.The agreed Spending Review funding supports the NHS’s own detailed assessment of pressures over the Parliament – including from an ageing and growing population. In 2016-17 total NHS funding will increase by £3.8bn in real terms, equivalent to a 3.6 per cent real terms increase.

National Infrastructure Commission

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government under what legislation the National Infrastructure Commission currently operates; whether the National Infrastructure Commissioners are being paid allowances or expenses for their work; and if so, on what basis, and how much.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The National Infrastructure does not currently operate under any legislation, but it will be legislated for when parliamentary time allows. Commissioners are being reimbursed all reasonable expenses properly and necessarily incurred in respect of their appointments. They are paid allowances in line with similar government positions.

National Infrastructure Commission

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the budget for the National Infrastructure Commission for the current year; what are the locations of its office accommodation; what that accommodation costs; and how many staff it employs, and at what cost.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: A suitable budget will be made available to cover the costs of staff and commissioning work from external organisations where necessary. The Commission is currently located at 1 Horse Guards Road on a temporary basis. The Commission is expected to have a staff of around 30 and it is now recruiting for these positions. The staff are being paid in line with salaries for government officials.

Welfare Tax Credits

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the proportion of the concession on tax credits announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 which is offset by the migration to Universal Credit.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: Universal Credit is a different benefit to Tax Credits. It brings six benefits together as one and therefore comparisons between the two are extremely difficult to make.Summer Budget 2015 and the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 provide the fiscal impacts of changes to Tax Credits and Universal Credit.

Local Government Finance

Lord Wakeham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the estimated financial contribution of central government to local government (1) for the year ending 5 April 2016, and (2) for each of the years to 5 April 2020, in the light of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The local government departmental expenditure limit (LG DEL) is £11.5bn in 2015/16 with the Spending Review announcing that it will reduce to £5.4bn by 2019/20. With forecast increases to other sources of local government income, overall local government spending will be higher in cash terms by 2019/20 than in 2015/16, an estimated rise from £40.3bn to £40.5bn.The total financial contribution made to local authorities by central government will be dependent on the grants made available by individual government departments. As departments will not yet have determined how much funding will be made available as grant across all years, it is not possible to provide a definitive end of parliament total.

Department for International Development: Departmental Expenditure Limits

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they have increased the Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit for International Development by 16.1 per cent between 2017–18 and 2018–19, as per Table 1A of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: Total departmental expenditure limits (TDEL) for the Department for International Development (DFID) are set on the basis of forecast Gross National Income (GNI) growth to enable the Government to meet the commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of GNI on official development assistance (ODA). Budgets also take into account assumptions for non-budgetary spend on ODA such as the UK’s share of EU ODA expenditure. As a result, DFID’s total DEL budget will increase by 8.5 per cent between 17/18 and 19/20.The split between capital and resource DEL is set to help manage pressures such as capital contributions to multilateral development banks.

Credit

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the latest Bank of England figures showing elevated levels of personal indebtedness, what assessment they have made of what is an acceptable and safe level of such borrowing.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: Household debt as a proportion of income has fallen to 144 per cent in Q2 2015, from a peak of 168 per cent in Q1 2008. To avoid repeating the mistakes of the past we have created the independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC) within the Bank of England, to ensure emerging risks and vulnerabilities across the financial system as a whole are identified, monitored and effectively addressed.

Viridor Credits

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the grant from Viridor Credits to All Saints Church in Kingston was audited by ENTRUST, and what assessment they have made of environmental objectives that grant fulfils.

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the grant from Viridor Credits to Holy Trinity Church in Wallington was audited by ENTRUST and what assessment they have made of environmental objectives that grant fulfils.

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the grant from Viridor Credits to Twickenham Rowing Club was audited by ENTRUST, and what assessment they have made of the environmental objectives that grant fulfils.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The Landfill Communities Fund is a tax credit scheme. It allows landfill operators to gain a tax credit against 90% of the voluntary donations they make to environmental bodies for spending on certain prescribed objectives.The prescribed objectives include:the restoration of a building of historic interest or place of religious worship; andthe maintenance or improvement of a public amenity;within the vicinity of a landfill site. ENTRUST, the independent regulator of the Landfill Communities Fund assesses and approves applications for project funding to ensure they meet the objectives of the scheme. ENTRUST also carries out a programme of assurance under which a cross-section of projects are selected for audit to ensure they meet the prescribed objectives, and that funds are spent compliantly.

Air Passenger Duty

Lord Rowe-Beddoe: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 30 November (HL Deb, col 931–3) about the non-devolution of the long-haul element of air passenger duty to Wales, how they differentiate between Edinburgh and Newcastle, and Cardiff and Bristol with respect to state aid.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: As set out in the St David’s Day Agreement, the government is considering the case and options for devolving powers to the Welsh Assembly over air passenger duty (APD). Any next steps pursued by the government will comply with EU State aid rules on tax devolution.Discussion of State aid is relevant to options we are considering to mitigate the effects of APD devolution with respect to English airports. In July, the government published a discussion paper on several options to do this. We will respond to the consultation and announce next steps in due course.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Plutonium

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any treaty obligations that the development of a solution for the disposition of plutonium will have to meet, and if so, what are those obligations.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: Any solution for the disposition of plutonium will need to be fully compliant with the UK’s obligations under such treaties as the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and the Euratom Treaty (including any Euratom directives issued thereunder, for example the COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 2013/59/EURATOM of 5 December 2013, which requires safety standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionizing radiation). The particular treaty obligations that may be triggered will depend on the nature of the chosen disposition solution.

Cabinet Office

Strategic Defence and Security Review

Baroness Jolly: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which foreign governments were consulted as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015.

Lord Bridges of Headley: Discussions were offered to all London-based foreign diplomatic missions.

Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2015

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consulted the Electoral Commission prior to the publication of the draft Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2015, and if so whether the response from the Electoral Commission indicated support for those draft Regulations.

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consulted all registered political parties prior to the publication of the draft Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2015.

Lord Bridges of Headley: As required by section 7(2) (k) of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, the Government formally consulted the Electoral Commission prior to the publication of the draft regulations. The Commission’s response did not give an indication as to whether or not it agreed with the policy approach but made a number of recommendations which were considered when finalising the draft regulations. The Government did not consult any registered political parties prior to laying the draft Regulations as there is no statutory requirement to do so.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many special advisers were employed on 1 November 2009, and at what total annual cost, and what were the figures on 1 November for each year thereafter.

Lord Bridges of Headley: Information on the number and cost of special advisers for 2009 and subsequent years is available in the Libraries of the House. Information for 2015 will be published shortly.

Department of Health

Atrial Fibrillation: Screening

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to promote opportunistic screening for atrial fibrillation.

Lord Prior of Brampton: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 08 December 2015.The correct answer should have been:

NHS England is encouraging clinical commissioning groups to work with local practices to target people at risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). Innovative approaches such as pulse testing at flu clinics and by some dentists are being used to identify AF in older people. The NHS Health Check programme’s best practice guidance also recommends a pulse check is carried out as part of the process of taking a blood pressure reading. People found to have an irregular pulse rhythm should be referred to the general practitioner for further investigation.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published an updated guideline on AF in June 2014. This offers evidence-based advice on the care and treatment of people with AF and includes recommendations on diagnosis. In July 2015 NICE also published a quality standard on AF.In addition to its clinical guideline on AF, NICE has published technology appraisal guidance on a number of new oral anticoagulants (NOACs), approving them for certain patients.There is a legal requirement on commissioners to provide funding for treatments and drugs recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance within three months of the guidance being published.This is enshrined in the NHS Constitution as a right to NICE-approved drugs.A consensus statement by the NICE Implementation Collaborative was published alongside NICE’s updated guideline in June 2014. This addresses some of the barriers to implementing NICE’s recommendations on prescribing NOACs.The need to reduce variation and strengthen compliance of the uptake of NICE technology appraisals was identified in Innovation Health and Wealth, published in December 2011. In response, NHS England and the Health and Social Care Information Centre now publishes on a quarterly basis an Innovation Scorecard to enable commissioners to benchmark their own position and increase transparency to patients and the public. This assists the NHS in the identification of variation and the adoption of treatments such as NOACs that are recommended in NICE technology appraisals. In addition, NHS England advises that it expects practitioners to consider anticoagulant treatments in line with NICE guidelines.Some progress is being made. The uptake of NOACs across England has doubled in recent years from 45,708 per 100,000 of the resident population in 2013-14 to 126,845 in 2014-15.No assessment has been made of the number of strokes related to AF could be prevented each year through the roll-out of Guidance on Risk Assessment and Stroke Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation in primary care. However, in 2014, an economic analysis estimated that if all eligible patients at high risk were managed according to the NICE AF guidelines, an additional 11,600 AF related strokes per year could be avoided.Copies of the guidance referred to have been placed in the Library.No assessment has been made of the number of strokes related to AF could be prevented each year through the roll-out of Guidance on Risk Assessment and Stroke Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation (GRASP-AF) in primary care. However, in 2014, an economic analysis estimated that if all eligible patients at high risk were managed according to the NICE AF guidelines, an additional 11,600 AF related strokes per year could be avoided.Copies of the guidance referred to, excluding GRASP-AF have been placed in the Library.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England is encouraging clinical commissioning groups to work with local practices to target people at risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). Innovative approaches such as pulse testing at flu clinics and by some dentists are being used to identify AF in older people. The NHS Health Check programme’s best practice guidance also recommends a pulse check is carried out as part of the process of taking a blood pressure reading. People found to have an irregular pulse rhythm should be referred to the general practitioner for further investigation.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published an updated guideline on AF in June 2014. This offers evidence-based advice on the care and treatment of people with AF and includes recommendations on diagnosis. In July 2015 NICE also published a quality standard on AF.In addition to its clinical guideline on AF, NICE has published technology appraisal guidance on a number of new oral anticoagulants (NOACs), approving them for certain patients.There is a legal requirement on commissioners to provide funding for treatments and drugs recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance within three months of the guidance being published.This is enshrined in the NHS Constitution as a right to NICE-approved drugs.A consensus statement by the NICE Implementation Collaborative was published alongside NICE’s updated guideline in June 2014. This addresses some of the barriers to implementing NICE’s recommendations on prescribing NOACs.The need to reduce variation and strengthen compliance of the uptake of NICE technology appraisals was identified in Innovation Health and Wealth, published in December 2011. In response, NHS England and the Health and Social Care Information Centre now publishes on a quarterly basis an Innovation Scorecard to enable commissioners to benchmark their own position and increase transparency to patients and the public. This assists the NHS in the identification of variation and the adoption of treatments such as NOACs that are recommended in NICE technology appraisals. In addition, NHS England advises that it expects practitioners to consider anticoagulant treatments in line with NICE guidelines.Some progress is being made. The uptake of NOACs across England has doubled in recent years from 45,708 per 100,000 of the resident population in 2013-14 to 126,845 in 2014-15.No assessment has been made of the number of strokes related to AF could be prevented each year through the roll-out of Guidance on Risk Assessment and Stroke Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation in primary care. However, in 2014, an economic analysis estimated that if all eligible patients at high risk were managed according to the NICE AF guidelines, an additional 11,600 AF related strokes per year could be avoided.Copies of the guidance referred to have been placed in the Library.No assessment has been made of the number of strokes related to AF could be prevented each year through the roll-out of Guidance on Risk Assessment and Stroke Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation (GRASP-AF) in primary care. However, in 2014, an economic analysis estimated that if all eligible patients at high risk were managed according to the NICE AF guidelines, an additional 11,600 AF related strokes per year could be avoided.Copies of the guidance referred to, excluding GRASP-AF have been placed in the Library.

Atrial Fibrillation: Diagnosis

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to improve the diagnosis of atrial fibrillation.

Lord Prior of Brampton: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 08 December 2015.The correct answer should have been:

NHS England is encouraging clinical commissioning groups to work with local practices to target people at risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). Innovative approaches such as pulse testing at flu clinics and by some dentists are being used to identify AF in older people. The NHS Health Check programme’s best practice guidance also recommends a pulse check is carried out as part of the process of taking a blood pressure reading. People found to have an irregular pulse rhythm should be referred to the general practitioner for further investigation.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published an updated guideline on AF in June 2014. This offers evidence-based advice on the care and treatment of people with AF and includes recommendations on diagnosis. In July 2015 NICE also published a quality standard on AF.In addition to its clinical guideline on AF, NICE has published technology appraisal guidance on a number of new oral anticoagulants (NOACs), approving them for certain patients.There is a legal requirement on commissioners to provide funding for treatments and drugs recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance within three months of the guidance being published.This is enshrined in the NHS Constitution as a right to NICE-approved drugs.A consensus statement by the NICE Implementation Collaborative was published alongside NICE’s updated guideline in June 2014. This addresses some of the barriers to implementing NICE’s recommendations on prescribing NOACs.The need to reduce variation and strengthen compliance of the uptake of NICE technology appraisals was identified in Innovation Health and Wealth, published in December 2011. In response, NHS England and the Health and Social Care Information Centre now publishes on a quarterly basis an Innovation Scorecard to enable commissioners to benchmark their own position and increase transparency to patients and the public. This assists the NHS in the identification of variation and the adoption of treatments such as NOACs that are recommended in NICE technology appraisals. In addition, NHS England advises that it expects practitioners to consider anticoagulant treatments in line with NICE guidelines.Some progress is being made. The uptake of NOACs across England has doubled in recent years from 45,708 per 100,000 of the resident population in 2013-14 to 126,845 in 2014-15.No assessment has been made of the number of strokes related to AF could be prevented each year through the roll-out of Guidance on Risk Assessment and Stroke Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation in primary care. However, in 2014, an economic analysis estimated that if all eligible patients at high risk were managed according to the NICE AF guidelines, an additional 11,600 AF related strokes per year could be avoided.Copies of the guidance referred to have been placed in the Library.No assessment has been made of the number of strokes related to AF could be prevented each year through the roll-out of Guidance on Risk Assessment and Stroke Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation (GRASP-AF) in primary care. However, in 2014, an economic analysis estimated that if all eligible patients at high risk were managed according to the NICE AF guidelines, an additional 11,600 AF related strokes per year could be avoided.Copies of the guidance referred to, excluding GRASP-AF have been placed in the Library.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England is encouraging clinical commissioning groups to work with local practices to target people at risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). Innovative approaches such as pulse testing at flu clinics and by some dentists are being used to identify AF in older people. The NHS Health Check programme’s best practice guidance also recommends a pulse check is carried out as part of the process of taking a blood pressure reading. People found to have an irregular pulse rhythm should be referred to the general practitioner for further investigation.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published an updated guideline on AF in June 2014. This offers evidence-based advice on the care and treatment of people with AF and includes recommendations on diagnosis. In July 2015 NICE also published a quality standard on AF.In addition to its clinical guideline on AF, NICE has published technology appraisal guidance on a number of new oral anticoagulants (NOACs), approving them for certain patients.There is a legal requirement on commissioners to provide funding for treatments and drugs recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance within three months of the guidance being published.This is enshrined in the NHS Constitution as a right to NICE-approved drugs.A consensus statement by the NICE Implementation Collaborative was published alongside NICE’s updated guideline in June 2014. This addresses some of the barriers to implementing NICE’s recommendations on prescribing NOACs.The need to reduce variation and strengthen compliance of the uptake of NICE technology appraisals was identified in Innovation Health and Wealth, published in December 2011. In response, NHS England and the Health and Social Care Information Centre now publishes on a quarterly basis an Innovation Scorecard to enable commissioners to benchmark their own position and increase transparency to patients and the public. This assists the NHS in the identification of variation and the adoption of treatments such as NOACs that are recommended in NICE technology appraisals. In addition, NHS England advises that it expects practitioners to consider anticoagulant treatments in line with NICE guidelines.Some progress is being made. The uptake of NOACs across England has doubled in recent years from 45,708 per 100,000 of the resident population in 2013-14 to 126,845 in 2014-15.No assessment has been made of the number of strokes related to AF could be prevented each year through the roll-out of Guidance on Risk Assessment and Stroke Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation in primary care. However, in 2014, an economic analysis estimated that if all eligible patients at high risk were managed according to the NICE AF guidelines, an additional 11,600 AF related strokes per year could be avoided.Copies of the guidance referred to have been placed in the Library.No assessment has been made of the number of strokes related to AF could be prevented each year through the roll-out of Guidance on Risk Assessment and Stroke Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation (GRASP-AF) in primary care. However, in 2014, an economic analysis estimated that if all eligible patients at high risk were managed according to the NICE AF guidelines, an additional 11,600 AF related strokes per year could be avoided.Copies of the guidance referred to, excluding GRASP-AF have been placed in the Library.

Atrial Fibrillation: Strokes

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many strokes related to atrial fibrillation could be prevented each year through the roll-out of GRASP-AF in primary care.

Lord Prior of Brampton: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 08 December 2015.The correct answer should have been:

NHS England is encouraging clinical commissioning groups to work with local practices to target people at risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). Innovative approaches such as pulse testing at flu clinics and by some dentists are being used to identify AF in older people. The NHS Health Check programme’s best practice guidance also recommends a pulse check is carried out as part of the process of taking a blood pressure reading. People found to have an irregular pulse rhythm should be referred to the general practitioner for further investigation.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published an updated guideline on AF in June 2014. This offers evidence-based advice on the care and treatment of people with AF and includes recommendations on diagnosis. In July 2015 NICE also published a quality standard on AF.In addition to its clinical guideline on AF, NICE has published technology appraisal guidance on a number of new oral anticoagulants (NOACs), approving them for certain patients.There is a legal requirement on commissioners to provide funding for treatments and drugs recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance within three months of the guidance being published.This is enshrined in the NHS Constitution as a right to NICE-approved drugs.A consensus statement by the NICE Implementation Collaborative was published alongside NICE’s updated guideline in June 2014. This addresses some of the barriers to implementing NICE’s recommendations on prescribing NOACs.The need to reduce variation and strengthen compliance of the uptake of NICE technology appraisals was identified in Innovation Health and Wealth, published in December 2011. In response, NHS England and the Health and Social Care Information Centre now publishes on a quarterly basis an Innovation Scorecard to enable commissioners to benchmark their own position and increase transparency to patients and the public. This assists the NHS in the identification of variation and the adoption of treatments such as NOACs that are recommended in NICE technology appraisals. In addition, NHS England advises that it expects practitioners to consider anticoagulant treatments in line with NICE guidelines.Some progress is being made. The uptake of NOACs across England has doubled in recent years from 45,708 per 100,000 of the resident population in 2013-14 to 126,845 in 2014-15.No assessment has been made of the number of strokes related to AF could be prevented each year through the roll-out of Guidance on Risk Assessment and Stroke Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation in primary care. However, in 2014, an economic analysis estimated that if all eligible patients at high risk were managed according to the NICE AF guidelines, an additional 11,600 AF related strokes per year could be avoided.Copies of the guidance referred to have been placed in the Library.No assessment has been made of the number of strokes related to AF could be prevented each year through the roll-out of Guidance on Risk Assessment and Stroke Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation (GRASP-AF) in primary care. However, in 2014, an economic analysis estimated that if all eligible patients at high risk were managed according to the NICE AF guidelines, an additional 11,600 AF related strokes per year could be avoided.Copies of the guidance referred to, excluding GRASP-AF have been placed in the Library.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England is encouraging clinical commissioning groups to work with local practices to target people at risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). Innovative approaches such as pulse testing at flu clinics and by some dentists are being used to identify AF in older people. The NHS Health Check programme’s best practice guidance also recommends a pulse check is carried out as part of the process of taking a blood pressure reading. People found to have an irregular pulse rhythm should be referred to the general practitioner for further investigation.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published an updated guideline on AF in June 2014. This offers evidence-based advice on the care and treatment of people with AF and includes recommendations on diagnosis. In July 2015 NICE also published a quality standard on AF.In addition to its clinical guideline on AF, NICE has published technology appraisal guidance on a number of new oral anticoagulants (NOACs), approving them for certain patients.There is a legal requirement on commissioners to provide funding for treatments and drugs recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance within three months of the guidance being published.This is enshrined in the NHS Constitution as a right to NICE-approved drugs.A consensus statement by the NICE Implementation Collaborative was published alongside NICE’s updated guideline in June 2014. This addresses some of the barriers to implementing NICE’s recommendations on prescribing NOACs.The need to reduce variation and strengthen compliance of the uptake of NICE technology appraisals was identified in Innovation Health and Wealth, published in December 2011. In response, NHS England and the Health and Social Care Information Centre now publishes on a quarterly basis an Innovation Scorecard to enable commissioners to benchmark their own position and increase transparency to patients and the public. This assists the NHS in the identification of variation and the adoption of treatments such as NOACs that are recommended in NICE technology appraisals. In addition, NHS England advises that it expects practitioners to consider anticoagulant treatments in line with NICE guidelines.Some progress is being made. The uptake of NOACs across England has doubled in recent years from 45,708 per 100,000 of the resident population in 2013-14 to 126,845 in 2014-15.No assessment has been made of the number of strokes related to AF could be prevented each year through the roll-out of Guidance on Risk Assessment and Stroke Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation in primary care. However, in 2014, an economic analysis estimated that if all eligible patients at high risk were managed according to the NICE AF guidelines, an additional 11,600 AF related strokes per year could be avoided.Copies of the guidance referred to have been placed in the Library.No assessment has been made of the number of strokes related to AF could be prevented each year through the roll-out of Guidance on Risk Assessment and Stroke Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation (GRASP-AF) in primary care. However, in 2014, an economic analysis estimated that if all eligible patients at high risk were managed according to the NICE AF guidelines, an additional 11,600 AF related strokes per year could be avoided.Copies of the guidance referred to, excluding GRASP-AF have been placed in the Library.

Atrial Fibrillation: Strokes

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to promote the implementation of NICE guidance on prescribing anticoagulants for the prevention of strokes related to atrial fibrillation.

Lord Prior of Brampton: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 08 December 2015.The correct answer should have been:

NHS England is encouraging clinical commissioning groups to work with local practices to target people at risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). Innovative approaches such as pulse testing at flu clinics and by some dentists are being used to identify AF in older people. The NHS Health Check programme’s best practice guidance also recommends a pulse check is carried out as part of the process of taking a blood pressure reading. People found to have an irregular pulse rhythm should be referred to the general practitioner for further investigation.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published an updated guideline on AF in June 2014. This offers evidence-based advice on the care and treatment of people with AF and includes recommendations on diagnosis. In July 2015 NICE also published a quality standard on AF.In addition to its clinical guideline on AF, NICE has published technology appraisal guidance on a number of new oral anticoagulants (NOACs), approving them for certain patients.There is a legal requirement on commissioners to provide funding for treatments and drugs recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance within three months of the guidance being published.This is enshrined in the NHS Constitution as a right to NICE-approved drugs.A consensus statement by the NICE Implementation Collaborative was published alongside NICE’s updated guideline in June 2014. This addresses some of the barriers to implementing NICE’s recommendations on prescribing NOACs.The need to reduce variation and strengthen compliance of the uptake of NICE technology appraisals was identified in Innovation Health and Wealth, published in December 2011. In response, NHS England and the Health and Social Care Information Centre now publishes on a quarterly basis an Innovation Scorecard to enable commissioners to benchmark their own position and increase transparency to patients and the public. This assists the NHS in the identification of variation and the adoption of treatments such as NOACs that are recommended in NICE technology appraisals. In addition, NHS England advises that it expects practitioners to consider anticoagulant treatments in line with NICE guidelines.Some progress is being made. The uptake of NOACs across England has doubled in recent years from 45,708 per 100,000 of the resident population in 2013-14 to 126,845 in 2014-15.No assessment has been made of the number of strokes related to AF could be prevented each year through the roll-out of Guidance on Risk Assessment and Stroke Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation in primary care. However, in 2014, an economic analysis estimated that if all eligible patients at high risk were managed according to the NICE AF guidelines, an additional 11,600 AF related strokes per year could be avoided.Copies of the guidance referred to have been placed in the Library.No assessment has been made of the number of strokes related to AF could be prevented each year through the roll-out of Guidance on Risk Assessment and Stroke Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation (GRASP-AF) in primary care. However, in 2014, an economic analysis estimated that if all eligible patients at high risk were managed according to the NICE AF guidelines, an additional 11,600 AF related strokes per year could be avoided.Copies of the guidance referred to, excluding GRASP-AF have been placed in the Library.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England is encouraging clinical commissioning groups to work with local practices to target people at risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). Innovative approaches such as pulse testing at flu clinics and by some dentists are being used to identify AF in older people. The NHS Health Check programme’s best practice guidance also recommends a pulse check is carried out as part of the process of taking a blood pressure reading. People found to have an irregular pulse rhythm should be referred to the general practitioner for further investigation.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published an updated guideline on AF in June 2014. This offers evidence-based advice on the care and treatment of people with AF and includes recommendations on diagnosis. In July 2015 NICE also published a quality standard on AF.In addition to its clinical guideline on AF, NICE has published technology appraisal guidance on a number of new oral anticoagulants (NOACs), approving them for certain patients.There is a legal requirement on commissioners to provide funding for treatments and drugs recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance within three months of the guidance being published.This is enshrined in the NHS Constitution as a right to NICE-approved drugs.A consensus statement by the NICE Implementation Collaborative was published alongside NICE’s updated guideline in June 2014. This addresses some of the barriers to implementing NICE’s recommendations on prescribing NOACs.The need to reduce variation and strengthen compliance of the uptake of NICE technology appraisals was identified in Innovation Health and Wealth, published in December 2011. In response, NHS England and the Health and Social Care Information Centre now publishes on a quarterly basis an Innovation Scorecard to enable commissioners to benchmark their own position and increase transparency to patients and the public. This assists the NHS in the identification of variation and the adoption of treatments such as NOACs that are recommended in NICE technology appraisals. In addition, NHS England advises that it expects practitioners to consider anticoagulant treatments in line with NICE guidelines.Some progress is being made. The uptake of NOACs across England has doubled in recent years from 45,708 per 100,000 of the resident population in 2013-14 to 126,845 in 2014-15.No assessment has been made of the number of strokes related to AF could be prevented each year through the roll-out of Guidance on Risk Assessment and Stroke Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation in primary care. However, in 2014, an economic analysis estimated that if all eligible patients at high risk were managed according to the NICE AF guidelines, an additional 11,600 AF related strokes per year could be avoided.Copies of the guidance referred to have been placed in the Library.No assessment has been made of the number of strokes related to AF could be prevented each year through the roll-out of Guidance on Risk Assessment and Stroke Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation (GRASP-AF) in primary care. However, in 2014, an economic analysis estimated that if all eligible patients at high risk were managed according to the NICE AF guidelines, an additional 11,600 AF related strokes per year could be avoided.Copies of the guidance referred to, excluding GRASP-AF have been placed in the Library.

Health Services: Social Services

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance they plan to issue on the integration of health and social care services, in the light of their commitment to do so by 2020 at paragraph 2.49 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015; whether that guidance will cover integrated budgets for those services locally and nationally; and whether new legislation will be required to ensure that integration.

Lord Prior of Brampton: It is clear from progress already made up and down the country towards the integration of health and social care that there is no single ‘correct’ way to achieve the Government’s ambition of full integration by 2020. On this basis, the Government will encourage areas to design and implement those solutions that are most appropriate for their own context, and will avoid setting out an overly prescriptive policy framework, including with respect to the integration of budgets.However, in order to ensure that adequate progress is made in the given timeframe, and that the benefits of integration are realised both for members of the public and for health and social care organisations, it will be important to set out the Government’s minimum expectations for integration. Areas will be expected to pay regard to these minimum expectations when setting out their plans for integration by 2020, and it will be by demonstrating that they have moved beyond this baseline that they will be entitled to graduate from the existing Better Care Fund programme management, which will continue to be mandatory in 2016-17.The existing legislative framework already provides a great degree of flexibility for local areas wishing to pursue different approaches to the integration of health and social care. The Government will work closely with local areas in the years to 2020 to understand the limits of this legislative framework and to understand how any limits can be overcome.It is the intention that guidance will be published in 2016 reflecting the position set out above, and it is likely that this guidance will include material on the integration of budgets.

Social Services: Fees and Charges

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the budget figures for the Department of Health and the Department for Communities and Local Government include provision for the implementation of the Dilnot Commission proposals for capping individual liability for social care, as under the Care Act 2014; and if so, in which years such provision has been made.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Government remains committed to introducing the cap on reasonable care costs and extension of means tested support, which will come into force and be funded from April 2020. The Spending Review 2015 sets budgets for the next four years to 2019/20. The final year includes funding to cover the costs of local authorities preparing to implement the changes the following year. This start date is also indicated in the Autumn Statement 2015, as the delayed annually managed expenditure impact of this policy is shown with the policy starting in 2020.

Diabetes: Chiropody

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are changing the availability of podiatric services to diabetics, and if so, based on what criteria.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Podiatry services are commissioned locally by clinical commissioning groups working with local partners and based on the need of the local population, resources available and evidence based practice. These commissioning decisions are informed by the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and the local Health and Wellbeing Strategy. Clinical networks provide opportunity to adopt and disseminate best practice.

Prisons: Smoking

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prison inmates are enrolled on courses or treatments to help them stop smoking.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Validated information is not available centrally.

NHS England

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when it was decided that the Chief Executive of NHS England could appear on political debate shows such as Any Questions?, and who made that decision.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England is an independent body established by the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Its Chief Executive, Simon Stevens, decided to accept the invitation to appear on the ‘Any Questions?’ programme several months ago.

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust deals effectively with the issues of racial discrimination and harassment identified by the Care Quality Commission.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The NHS Trust Development Authority (TDA) is monitoring and working closely with Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust to support the Trust to address these issues.We are advised by the TDA that the Trust’s Race Equality Workforce Engagement Strategy involves multiple work streams led by area specific engagement groups to address specific issues and challenges across all areas and levels of the Trust. It was launched at the joint Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Network and Trust conference in October 2014.A programme board was established and the first meeting was in February 2015. Programme board meetings are co-chaired by the Chief Executive and the Chair of the BME Network in order to provide oversight, performance management and governance of the race equality action plans developed by the various engagement groups.We are assured by the TDA that the Trust followed procedures correctly in appointing the Chairman of the Trust to hear a right of appeal from nine BME members of staff against the decision of Henrietta Hill QC.

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust followed its own procedures correctly in appointing the Chairman of the Trust to hear a right of appeal from nine BME members of staff against the decision of Henrietta Hill QC.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The NHS Trust Development Authority (TDA) is monitoring and working closely with Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust to support the Trust to address these issues.We are advised by the TDA that the Trust’s Race Equality Workforce Engagement Strategy involves multiple work streams led by area specific engagement groups to address specific issues and challenges across all areas and levels of the Trust. It was launched at the joint Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Network and Trust conference in October 2014.A programme board was established and the first meeting was in February 2015. Programme board meetings are co-chaired by the Chief Executive and the Chair of the BME Network in order to provide oversight, performance management and governance of the race equality action plans developed by the various engagement groups.We are assured by the TDA that the Trust followed procedures correctly in appointing the Chairman of the Trust to hear a right of appeal from nine BME members of staff against the decision of Henrietta Hill QC.

Paracetamol

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much NHS England pays for paracetamol, and how much paracetamol it procures annually.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England has advised that it does not procure paracetamol. This is done by dispensing contractors in primary care and by hospital trusts in secondary care.